Guide
Akdağ rises to 1,800 metres behind Ladik and, as the name says, turns white through the winter. For a long time it was used mainly by local people. Its summer plateau festivals made its name first, and the ground turned out to suit grass skiing, which brought a series of events here.
A chairlift 1,500 metres long and investment in accommodation made the area usable for winter tourism as well, and it took on the character of a ski resort. Its position has brought interest from Amasya, Çorum and Tokat as well as Samsun, and the Ladik Akdağ winter sports centre has become one of the winter destinations of the region.
Ladik is 75 kilometres from Samsun and is a draw in its own right for its thermal springs and its landscape. The facilities are reached by a climb of a few kilometres just past the district centre, and the panorama that opens up as the road rises is worth the drive: the lake and the plain of Ladik seen from that height.
The centre is busy at weekends. It consists at present of one building used as a ski centre, a year-round motel and restaurant, and a long chairlift running to the summit, which takes about ten minutes. Besides lodging and food there is ski hire, ATV riding and snowmobile tours, and sledges can be hired for the gentler slope used by beginners and children. The white hills one behind another also suit walking and photography.
